At the National Summit on
“Building Clean, Livable Cities,” Dr. George Kelling kicked off
discussion by presenting his popular theory on “broken windows,” a
metaphor for the breakdown of community organization and stability.
Quality-of-life issues related to environmental blight are rooted in this
“broken window” theory, postulated in the 1940s and recently
popularized through a series of writings by Dr. Kelling and political
scientist James Q. Wilson.

The theory posits that a
broken window left unrepaired in a building sends a signal that there is a
lack of concern about the building. This broken window, left untended,
leads to more broken windows. This pivotal event causes a chain reaction
because when residents see that vandalism is being ignored, they begin to
tolerate other negative activities as acceptable behaviors. In the same
way, disorderly behavior, left untended, leads to fear and more serious
crimes. Neglect and apathy take root in a neighborhood, fueling further
deterioration and often leading to other societal ills.

Dr. Kelling commended the
mayors for first recognizing this theory to be true in their own
communities, and actively taking leadership to develop local programs
addressing issues of blight, crime, and decline in urban areas. He
discussed the challenge of balancing the rights of individuals to
self-expression with the public rights to orderly neighborhoods. He
emphasized the city’s need to take back control of public spaces, and
that neighborhoods should not be the victims of gang control, crime, and
other related problems.

To restore order, Dr. Kelling
noted several important components of community organization, including:

Residents taking
personal responsibility for the neighborhoods

Citizens and police
departments working together to combat crime

Business Improvement
Districts being essential to clean, safe downtown areas

Civic and church
groups providing active support in neighborhoods

Mid-town community
courts providing enforcement

Restoration of
authority for parents and teachers over children in the community

Dr. Kelling asserted that only
with a recommitment to values of civility and respect for others will
neighborhoods once again be able to flourish. Dr. Kelling’s past
experience on projects in New York City include the highly-publicized
effort to develop order maintenance policies in the New York City subway
system, which ultimately led to radical crime reductions. Later, he also
consulted with the New York City Police Department to effectively deal
with its “squeegeemen,” individuals who would wash windshields of
idling vehicles at traffic lights, then demand money for their uninvited
work.

Here are some highlighted
quotes from both Dr. Kelling’s book, entitled Fixing Broken Windows, and
his address to the mayors at the National Summit:

“Quality of life
and disorder continue to be among the most urgent issues local
politicians address…yet the national debate on crime focuses
exclusively on serious, index crimes.”

“The problem is
not the condition of being homeless or poor; it is the behavior of
many persons, some homeless but others not, who violate the laws of
the city and state…the issue is behavior.”

“Many of these
wannabes need instruction about civil behavior. Restraining this group
by enforcing rules reduces the disorder and chaos that both stimulate
and provide cover for those dedicated to serious crime.”

“If we ask
residents about the major problems in their neighborhoods, almost
invariably they describe abandoned cars, graffiti, and other such
disorderly behaviors.”

“Restoring order
is key to revitalizing our cities, and to preventing the downward
spiral into urban decay, regardless of whether a reduction in crime
results.”

“Quality of life
crimes are the focus of the new Midtown Community Court. Eighty
percent of all sentences contain orders for performing community
service in the neighborhood in which the crimes were committed and
supervised by the neighborhood community leaders. If they fail to
appear, they are sent to jail.”

“Restoring order
was not merely the responsibility of police, but an integrated effort
involving a number of different agencies and social service providers,
all of which engaged in a problem-solving process to target a specific
set of problems. The end result was not only order restored, but crime
reduced, and most probably, prevented.”

“No efforts at
restoring order in the community will be successful in the long run
without the development of a full partnership between citizens in the
community and the criminal justice institutions that affect conditions
in their neighborhoods.”

“Citizen or
neighborhood-based groups are a key element in this paradigm.
Opportunity reduction, problem solving, and crime prevention through
environmental design, as well as political and legal action, have all
become part of the vernacular of community groups and are included in
their banks of skills.”

“The most
significant effect of reducing disorder is the development of a
renewed commitment within the community for citizens themselves to
take responsibility for maintaining civil and safe social
conditions.”

“We need to bring
police and criminal justice policies in line with citizen concerns.
New research is crucial to overturning social policies and legal dogma
that give undue weight to liberty interests and ignore personal
responsibility and community interests.”

“We must address
disorder through a comprehensive community-wide problem-solving
effort, forcing a change in the behavior of wannabes away from
disorderly acts, increasing police contact with and control over
perpetrators of index crimes, and causing citizens to accept a greater
role in order maintenance in public spaces in their community. This
holds the potential for preventing and reducing crime.”

For more information about the
“broken windows” theory, or to purchase a copy of Dr. George
Kelling’s book, entitled Fixing Broken Windows, please contact his
office at Rutgers University at 973.353.1103.